Team of the Week: All Black & Blue

Our famous weekly selection is literally black and blue – the colours of the Chiefs and Blues.

Yes, the defending Super Rugby champions and the resurgent outfit from Auckland completely domination our Team of the Week.

The Chiefs and Blues have five members each in our starting XV, while the Sharks (two) is the only other team with more than one member.

The Crusaders, Reds and Waratahs make up the numbers.

And our back-up squad also has a healthy selection of Chiefs and Blues (three each), while the Sharks have four players bubbling under. The Bulls provide two members of for this selection, while the Rebels, Reds and Waratahs (one each) make up the numbers.

13 – Rene Ranger (Blues):His move closer to the action has done his game the world of good.Bubbling under: Tim Nanai-Williams (Chiefs)

12 – Francois Steyn (Sharks):The more mature version of the 2007 World Cup winner is a far better player.Bubbling under: Francis Saili (Blues)

11 – Asaeli Tikoirotuma (Chiefs):Now his second season with the Chiefs, he is continuing to grow and mature – showing why he was able to score four tries against the Blues last year.Bubbling under: George Moala (Blues)

10 – Chris Noakes (Blues):After his break-out season with the Highlanders last year, his move north to the Blues has further enhanced his reputation.Bubbling under: Aaron Cruden (Chiefs)

9 – Piri Weepu (Blues):Not just a trimmer version, but also a highly motivated All Black is finally back on top of his game.Bubbling under: Cobus Reinach (Sharks)

8 – Kieran Read (Crusaders):At times it looked like he was fighting a lone battle against the Blues pack – winning turnovers, making cover tackles, cleaning rucks and playing distributor.Bubbling under: Jake Schatz (Reds)

5 – Brodie Retallick (Chiefs):Putting his hand up to be an All Black starter again.Bubbling under: Ali Williams (Blues)

4 – Rob Simmons (Reds):Hard to believe he is only 23, given that he made his Super Rugby debut four years ago and is an 'institution' in the Reds set-up.Bubbling under: Anton Bresler (Sharks)

3 – Ben Afeaki (Chiefs):Showed why he was so valuable at the business end of the 2012 season, after he spent much of last year's Super Rugby season out with a fractured arm.Bubbling under: Jannie du Plessis (Sharks)